Water Drip Regulation Attachment for Spigots and Faucets

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a drip attachment for residential and commercial outdoor spigots/faucets for avoiding freezing of water pipes and spigots and minimizing wastage of water by limiting dripping of water to 5-40 drops per minute. The attachment is designed to mount onto a spigot and provides extrusion of water flowing from the spigot to release 5-40 drops of water per minute. More specifically, the attachment has a screw-on section having female threads for engaging to the spigot and has fixed baffles/valves in an extrusion section limiting number of drops of water. The screw-on section has a rubber gasket for prohibiting any leakage and the attachment has a tapered water drip portion and a bottom opening for releasing water drops in a desired rate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/285,697, which was filed on December3^(rd), 2021 and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to faucets and spigots. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to a novel attachment for astandard residential or commercial water spigot. The attachment ismounted to the spigot for regulating the flow rate of water flowing froman unattended spigot. The attachment has a fixed set of valves forregulating flow and for maintaining a drip rate of only 5-40 drops ofwater per minute, thereby prohibiting freezing of pipes, unintentionalsealing of the drip and minimizing wastage of water. Accordingly, thepresent disclosure makes specific reference thereto. Nonetheless, it isto be appreciated that aspects of the present invention are also equallyapplicable to other like applications, devices, and methods ofmanufacture.

BACKGROUND

By way of background, water pipes and faucets especially thosepositioned in the open such as, in a backyard of a home, can becomefrozen in cold weather. For example, swimming pool supply lines, watersprinkler lines, outdoor faucets, and more are exposed to severe coldand snowfall which can become frozen. Once the water in the pipefreezes, a large pressure is created between the closed faucet and theblockage that may also explode or rupture the pipe, as water has aproperty of expansion upon freezing. The bursting of a pipeline can beextremely dangerous and may injure a resident while also creatingslippery conditions and substantial amounts of structural damage. Aburst pipe can also allow a large amount of water to pour into a homethereby accumulating water everywhere.

Frozen pipe repair is expensive and can often rack up thousands ofdollars in damages. Also, water related repairs are time consuming andindividuals are required to arrange water damage restoration andremediation means while the repair is being performed. Individualsdesire a device and a method that can prevent their pipes from becomingfrozen.

Generally, individuals, upon detecting a frozen pipe, try to increasetemperature around the frozen pipe. Individuals typically use a hairdryer, torch, space heater, and the like to raise the ambienttemperature in the space around the frozen pipe section. However, thismethod is ineffective as individuals may not have access tohard-to-reach areas of the frozen pipe. Further, the temperature of onlya relatively small area around the frozen pipe is actually increased.Further still, continuous heating of a frozen pipe may also crack thepipe. Individuals desire a more convenient way of prohibiting freezingof pipes.

Many individuals deploy plumbing insulation around pipes, however themethod to install insulation along all water pipes is very expensive.Individuals desire an inexpensive and convenient device that can help inprohibiting freezing of pipes.

It is a known fact that outdoor pipes and faucets are less likely tofreeze during cold weather conditions when a continuous stream of watercirculates through the pipes and drips out of the faucets. However,continuously dripping of water, by keeping spigots/faucets at a highspeed, is a wastage of water and is neither environmentally nor costfriendly. It leads to wastage of a natural resource. Individuals desirea device that can allow them to drip water from faucets/spigots at arate adequate to avoid freezing while also not wasting excessive water.

Therefore, there exists a long-felt need in the art for an inexpensivedevice that easily prevents frozen pipes in cold weather. There is alsoa long-felt need in the art for a device that can be used with anyconventional faucet and spigot for controlling constant dripping ofwater at a very low rate of several drops per minute. Additionally,there is a long-felt need in the art for a faucet attachment thatprevents freezing of water pipes while not wasting excessive water.Moreover, there is a long-felt need in the art for a pipe freezingprevention device that obviates a need to maintain a warm ambienttemperature around a frozen pipe. Further, there is a long-felt need inthe art for a faucet attachment device that obviates the requirement ofinstallation of plumbing insulation. Further, there is a long-felt needin the art for a faucet attachment device that is easy and inexpensiveto use and can be used with any faucet/spigot. Finally, there is along-felt need in the art for a user-friendly and effectiveplastic/metal attachment that can be easily used with a standardresidential or commercial outside water spigot for regulating drippingof water to avoid freezing while reducing wastage of water.

The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodimentthereof, comprises a drip attachment for faucets/spigots. The dripattachment has a one-piece structure, is lightweight, portable and canbe used with any conventional residential or commercial outdoor spigot.The attachment comprising a top screw-on section, a middle extrusionsection, and a bottom drip exit portion. The top screw-on section havinga plurality of female threads positioned therein for a secure attachmentto the faucet, the extrusion section having a plurality of baffles forproviding extrusion effect to regulate flow of water received from thefaucet, the drip exit portion is substantially tapered and is fluidlycoupled to the extrusion section enabling the regulated water drops tocontinuously exit for prohibiting freezing of a pipe associated with thefaucet, and the faucet, wherein the 5-40 drops per minute are enabledfor minimizing wastage of water.

In this manner, the standard residential outside water spigot dripattachment of the present invention accomplishes all of the foregoingobjectives and provides users with a simple and non-mechanicalplastic/metal attachment for regulating flow rate of outdoorfaucets/spigots to keep pipes from freezing while minimizing wastage ofwater to maintain flow rate to several drops every minute. Theattachment can be used with any existing spigot and thus obviatesplumbing insulation and maintaining a high ambient temperature aroundpipes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosed innovation. This summaryis not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identifykey/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its solepurpose is to present some general concepts in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodimentthereof, comprises a drip attachment for faucets/spigots. The dripattachment has a one-piece structure and further comprising a topscrew-on section, a middle extrusion section, and a bottom drip exitportion. The top screw-on section having a plurality of female threadspositioned thereon for a secure attachment to the faucet, the extrusionsection having a plurality of baffles for providing extrusion effect toregulate flow of water received from the faucet, the drip exit portionis substantially tapered and is fluidly coupled to the extrusion sectionenabling the regulated water drops to continuously exit prohibitingfreezing of a pipe associated with the faucet, and the faucet, whereinthe 5-40 drops per minute are enabled for minimizing wastage of water.

In yet another embodiment, the drip attachment is made of poly vinylchloride (PVC).

In yet another embodiment, the drip attachment is made of lightweightmetal.

In yet another embodiment, the screw-on section has a rubber gasket forprohibiting any water leakage from the attachment.

In yet another embodiment, the attachment has a length of about 2″ toabout 5″ measured from the screw-on section to the drip exit portion.

In yet another embodiment, the drip attachment is reusable and can beused with any conventional residential faucet/spigot.

In yet another embodiment, a method for prohibiting freezing of waterpipes and faucets in cold weather is described. The method involves thesteps of providing an attachment configured to mount to a faucet/spigot,the attachment having a plurality of valves for providing an extrusioneffect to the flow of water received from the faucet; mounting theattachment to the water outlet of the faucet by screwing-on theattachment; turning on the faucet by turning about one full turn torelease water; providing an extrusion effect to the water received bythe attachment; and releasing 5-40 drop of water per minute from theattachment to maintain a constant flow of water inside the faucet andassociated pipe while minimizing wastage of water.

In yet another embodiment, a simple drip attachment for mounting onto aspigot is disclosed. The attachment is made from hard, durable plasticor metal and looks similar to a water hose attachment. The attachmenthas a screw-on section, a water hose-type rubber gasket inserted intothe screw-on section, a fixed set of baffles/valves for providingextrusion principle, a water drop release portion for releasing waterdrops, the attachment enables only 5-40 drops of water to be releasedfrom the spigot per minute for prohibiting freezing of water inside apipe of the spigot while also not wasting excessive water. Extrusion isa process used to enable fluid flow through objects of a fixedcross-sectional profile by pushing materials or liquids through anopening of the desired cross-section or taper. The pushing can becreated by water pressure being exerted from the activated water pipe,through the baffles/valves, and into the water drop release portion.Extrusion can be continuous as long as the water spigot is in the‘running’ orientation.

Numerous benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparentto those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon reading andunderstanding of the following detailed specification.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certainillustrative aspects of the disclosed innovation are described herein inconnection with the following description and the annexed drawings.These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various waysin which the principles disclosed herein can be employed and areintended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Otheradvantages and novel features will become apparent from the followingdetailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description refers to provided drawings in which similar referencecharacters refer to similar parts throughout the different views, and inwhich:

FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of one potential embodiment of aspigot drip attachment of the present invention in accordance with thedisclosed architecture;

FIG. 1B illustrates a top perspective view of one potential embodimentof the spigot drip attachment of the present invention in accordancewith the disclosed architecture;

FIG. 1C illustrates a bottom perspective view of one potentialembodiment of the spigot drip attachment of the present invention inaccordance with the disclosed architecture;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the process of attaching onepotential embodiment of the faucet attachment of the present inventionto a faucet in accordance with the disclosed architecture;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of one potential embodiment of thefaucet attachment of the present invention being mounted onto a faucetin accordance with the disclosed architecture; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an internal illustrated view of one potentialembodiment of the drip attachment device of the present inventionreleasing drops of water in accordance with the disclosed architectureto prevent freezing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, whereinlike reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout.In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding thereof. It may be evident, however, that the innovationcan be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form inorder to facilitate a description thereof. Various embodiments arediscussed hereinafter. It should be noted that the figures are describedonly to facilitate the description of the embodiments. They are notintended as an exhaustive description of the invention and do not limitthe scope of the invention. Additionally, an illustrated embodiment neednot have all the aspects or advantages shown. Thus, in otherembodiments, any of the features described herein from differentembodiments may be combined.

As noted above, there exists a long-felt need in the art for aninexpensive device that easily prevents frozen pipes in cold weather.There is also a long-felt need in the art for a device that can be usedwith any conventional faucet and spigot for controlling constantdripping of water at a very low rate of several drops per minute.Additionally, there is a long-felt need in the art for a faucetattachment that prevents freezing of water pipes while not wastingexcessive water. Moreover, there is a long-felt need in the art for apipe freezing prevention device that obviates a need to maintain a warmambient temperature around a frozen pipe. Further, there is a long-feltneed in the art for a faucet attachment device that obviates therequirement of installation of plumbing insulation. Further, there is along-felt need in the art for a faucet attachment device that is easyand inexpensive to use and can be used with any faucet/spigot. Finally,there is a long-felt need in the art for a user-friendly and effectiveplastic/metal attachment that can be easily used with a standardresidential or commercial outside water spigot for regulating drippingof water to avoid freezing while reducing wastage of water.

The present invention, in one exemplary embodiment, is a novel simpledrip attachment for mounting onto a spigot/faucet. The attachmentincludes a top screw-on section, a water hose-type rubber gasketinserted into the screw-on section, a fixed set of baffles/valves in amiddle extrusion section for providing extrusion principles to water, abottom water drop release portion for releasing water drops, wherein theattachment enables only 5-40 drops of water per minute to be releasedfrom the spigot for prohibiting freezing of water inside a pipe of thespigot while also not wasting excessive water.

Referring initially to the drawings, FIG. 1A illustrates a perspectiveview of one potential embodiment of the spigot drip attachment of thepresent invention in accordance with the disclosed architecture. Thespigot drip attachment 100 of the present invention is designed as aplastic or metal attachment for a standard residential outside waterspigot for regulating flow of water to a rate that avoids freezing ofpipes while minimizing wastage of water. The drip attachment 100includes a one-piece structure and can be easily screwed onto anyresidential or commercial faucet/spigot for offering a fail-safeapproach to pipe freeze mitigation for consumers.

More specifically, the drip device 100 has a screw-on section 102 usedfor easily screwing onto a male threaded spigot/faucet end. The screw-onsection 102 has a cavity 108 functions as a faucet adapter and forms aseal around the faucet for eliminating leakage of liquid. An extrusionsection 104 extends below from the screw-on section 102 and isconfigured to operate on principle of extrusion thereby enabling (i.e.,metering) about 5-40 drops of water to be released from drip exit ornozzle 106. The drip exit portion 106 is positioned at the bottom of thedrip attachment 100 and releases drops of water at a constant rate.

The attachment 100, once screwed onto a faucet, does not require anymaintenance and is easy to install and use. Preferably, the faucet towhich the attachment 100 is attached, can be turned (i.e.,counterclockwise) about ½ to 1 full turn for effectively activating theattachment 100. It should be noted that the attachment 100 enablesgenerally only 5-40 drops of water to be released and thus avoidsfreezing of pipes while minimizing wastage of water even when the faucetis turned on for long periods.

The attachment 100 can be made of heavy-duty plastic like poly-vinylchloride (PVC) or a lightweight metal. The attachment 100 may come in avariety of colors and has a total length from about 2″ to about 5″, thusmaking the attachment 100 portable and easy for storage.

FIG. 1B illustrates a top perspective view of the spigot drip attachment100 of the present invention in accordance with the disclosedarchitecture. As illustrated, the screw-on section 102 has a pluralityof female thread cut-outs 110 positioned on its interior surface. Thecut-outs 110 allow a secure and tight mounting of the attachment 100 onthe male threaded faucet/spigot. The screw-on section 102 also has awater hose-type rubber gasket 112 for creating a seal and prohibitingany leakage around the faucet.

The extrusion section 104 includes a continuous opening 114 comprising afixed set of baffles/valves as illustrated in FIG. 5 . The extrusionsection 104 functions to control pressure of the water received from afaucet and therefore only a desired number of water drops are drippedfrom the attachment 100.

FIG. 1C illustrates a bottom perspective view of the spigot dripattachment 100 of the present invention in accordance with the disclosedarchitecture. As illustrated, the drip exit or nozzle 106 has an opening116 for releasing drops of water. The drip exit portion 106 is fromabout 0.25″ to about 0.75″ in length, inclusive, and is fluidly coupledto the extrusion section 104. Further, the drip exit portion 106 istapered and helps in uniform and slow dripping of water. As illustrated,the drip exit portion 106 includes a relatively larger receiving portion107 proximal to the extrusion section 104 that tapers or narrows to arelatively smaller discharging portion 109 distal to the extrusionsection 104.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view showing the process of screwingthe faucet attachment 100 to a faucet 300 in accordance with thedisclosed architecture. As illustrated, for mounting the attachment 100to a faucet spigot 202, the attachment 100 is held upright and thefemale threaded screw-on section 102 is mounted and screwed to the wateroutlet 204 of the faucet 300. The screw-on section 102 is then screwedlike a conventional hose connector to screw-on the male threads 206 ofthe water outlet 204.

The faucet spigot 202 can have male threads 206 for receiving femalethreads 110 or alternatively in other embodiments, the screw-on section102 can be easily mounted to a faucet that does not have male threads(not illustrated).

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view showing the faucet attachment 100being mounted onto a faucet 300 in accordance with the disclosedarchitecture. It should be noted that only the screw-on section 102makes physical contact with the faucet spigot 202 such that the wateroutlet 204 of the faucet spigot 202 rests on the water hose-type rubbergasket 112 (illustrated in FIG. 1B) when the attachment 100 is mountedonto the faucet spigot 202.

The extrusion section 104 receives a quantity of water from the faucetspigot 202 and, using the principle of extrusion, drips or meters outfrom about 5 drops to about 40 drops per minute, thereby maintaining aconstant, albeit slow flow of water from inside the pipe 302 to bothprevent freezing and limit wastage of water.

FIG. 4 illustrates an internal view of the components of the dripattachment 100 of the present invention for releasing drops of water inaccordance with the disclosed architecture. As illustrated, the screw-onsection 102 circumscribes a portion of the faucet's water outlet 204such that the female threads 110 maintain a secure attachment with thefaucet spigot 202. The faucet 300 is activated by opening a handle 304for enabling flow of water 404. The fixed set of valves 402 positionedinside the extrusion section 104 performs principle of extrusion andthus enables only a metered amount of drops 406, and more specificallyfrom about 5 drops to about 40 drops, of water to release from the dropexit portion 106.

The rubber gasket 112 prevents leakage of water from the attachment 100and provides flow of water from faucet spigot 202 to the drop releaseend 106. The attachment 100 accordingly maintains slow water movementand prevents freezing of the water inside the pipe and faucet, therebyreducing the pressure therein. Further, the attachment saves water bydripping or metering a predetermined number of water drops per minuteand thus, is an easy to implement solution that is inexpensive and canbe used with any conventional spigot/faucet.

The invention also discloses a method for prohibiting freezing of waterpipes and faucets in cold weather using a simple and non-mechanicalattachment for faucets. The method involves the steps of providing theattachment that is configured to mount to a faucet/spigot, theattachment having a plurality of valves for providing an extrusioneffect to the flow or pressure of water received from the activatedfaucet. The attachment is mounted to the water outlet of the faucet byscrewing-on the attachment and turning on the faucet by turning aboutone full turn to release water. An extrusion effect to the water (i.e.,pressure of the water flow) received by the attachment is provided byturning ‘on’ the faucet which results in a controlled and meteredrelease of water (i.e., 5-40 drops of water per minute) from theattachment to maintain a constant flow of water inside the faucet andassociated pipe while minimizing wastage of water.

The faucet/spigot attachment 100 of various embodiments of the presentinvention includes a variety of colors, sizes, and materials and can beused with any outdoor faucet. Any of conventional manufacturing andmolding techniques can be implemented to manufacture the attachment 100.The attachment 100 regulates (i.e., meters) the flow rate of outdoorfaucets to keep pipes from freezing while minimizing wastage of water.

Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claimsto refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the artwill appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature orcomponent by different names. This document does not intend todistinguish between components or features that differ in name but notstructure or function. As used herein “faucet/spigot attachment”,“attachment”, “spigot drip attachment”, “drip attachment forfaucets/spigots”, and “simple drip attachment” are interchangeable andrefer to the spigot drip attachment 100 of the present invention.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the spigot drip attachment 100 of thepresent invention can be of any suitable size and configuration as isknown in the art without affecting the overall concept of the invention,provided that it accomplishes the above-stated objectives. One ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the spigot dripattachment 100 as shown in the FIGS. are for illustrative purposes only,and that many other sizes and shapes of the spigot drip attachment 100are well within the scope of the present disclosure. Although thedimensions of the spigot drip attachment 100 are important designparameters for user convenience, the spigot drip attachment 100 may beof any size that ensures optimal performance during use and/or thatsuits the user's needs and/or preferences. Further, whenever a range ofdimensions is given, the same is inclusive of the outer limits.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplaryembodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. While the embodiments described above refer to particularfeatures, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments havingdifferent combinations of features and embodiments that do not includeall of the described features. Accordingly, the scope of the presentinvention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications,and variations as fall within the scope of the claims, together with allequivalents thereof.

What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subjectmatter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimedsubject matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in eitherthe detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising”is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

what is claimed is:
 1. A drip device for metering a faucet to control awater flow therethrough, the drip device comprising: a screw-on portionhaving a female threaded section for screwing onto a male threadedfaucet spigot end; an extrusion portion having at least one baffle forpassing the water flow therethrough; and a drip exit portion having atapered nozzle that narrows from a first end proximal to said extrusionportion to a second end distal to said extrusion portion.
 2. The dripdevice of claim 1, wherein said screw-on portion comprises a cavity forpassing the water flow therethrough.
 3. The drip device of claim 2,wherein said screw-on portion comprises a terminal end having a rubbergasket therearound for sealing against the male threaded faucet spigotend.
 4. The drip device of claim 3, wherein said drip device comprises alength from about 2 inches to about 5 inches, inclusive.
 5. The dripdevice of claim 4, wherein said drip exit portion includes a length fromabout 0.25 inches to about 0.75 inches.
 6. The drip device of claim 5,wherein said drip device meters a plurality of water drops from anactuated water faucet from about 5 drops to about 40 drops per minute.7. The drip device of claim 6, wherein said drip device is comprised ofa PVC plastic.
 8. The drip device of claim 6, wherein said drip devicecomprised of a lightweight metal.
 9. A drip device for metering a faucetto control a water flow therethrough, the drip device comprising: ascrew-on portion having a female threaded section for screwing onto amale threaded faucet spigot end; an extrusion portion having at leastone baffle for passing the water flow therethrough; and a drip exitportion having a tapered nozzle that narrows in size from a first endproximal to said extrusion portion to a second end distal to saidextrusion portion, and wherein a distance from said first end to saidsecond end is between 0.25 inches to about 0.75 inches, inclusive. 10.The drip device of claim 9, wherein said screw-on portion comprises acavity for passing the water flow therethrough.
 11. The drip device ofclaim 10, wherein said screw-on portion comprises a terminal end havinga rubber gasket therearound for sealing against the male threaded faucetspigot end.
 12. The drip device of claim 11, wherein said drip devicecomprises a length from about 2 inches to about 5 inches, inclusive. 13.The drip device of claim 12, wherein said drip device meters a pluralityof water drops from an actuated water faucet from about 5 drops to about40 drops per minute.
 14. The drip device of claim 13, wherein the dripdevice is comprised of a PVC plastic.
 15. The drip device of claim 13,wherein the drip device is comprised of a lightweight metal.
 16. Amethod for prohibiting a freezing of a water pipe and a faucet in coldweather, the method comprising the steps of: providing a faucetattachment configured to threadingly mount to a faucet spigot end,wherein said faucet attachment comprises an extrusion portion forproviding an extrusion effect to a flow of water received from thefaucet spigot end when activated; attaching said faucet attachment tothe faucet spigot end; turning on the faucet by opening a faucet handleto release a flow of water; controlling the flow of water through saidfaucet attachment by extruding at least a portion of the flow of waterfrom a threaded screw-on portion, through said extrusion portion, andout through a drip exit portion; wherein said controlling the flow ofwater includes a metered drip of water from said drip exit portion;wherein said extrusion portion includes at least one baffle for passingthe flow of water therethrough; wherein said drip exit portion includesa tapered nozzle narrowing from a first end proximal to said extrusionportion to a second end distal to said extrusion portion; and wherein adistance from said first end to said second end is from about 0.25inches to about 0.75 inches, inclusive.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein said screw-on portion includes a cavity for passing the flow ofwater therethrough.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said screw-onportion includes a terminal end having a rubber gasket therearound forsealing against the threaded faucet spigot end.
 19. The method of claim18, wherein said faucet attachment includes a length from about 2 inchesto about 5 inches.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein said faucetattachment meters a plurality of water drops from an actuated waterfaucet from about 5 drops to about 40 drops per minute.